Veteran journalist Ed Schultz returns to primetime on RT America

Progressive political journalist Ed Schultz is joining RT America as the host of a primetime news show. “The News with Ed Schultz” will explore the issues that most affect working Americans, particularly within the context of the upcoming US presidential election.

The new journalistically based show, which will air at 8 pm ET on weeknights, will present the facts of the day, cutting through the issues the mainstream media seems to ignore.

“There is a fight for the heart and soul of our country right now. The effort to deliver healthcare to all Americans is a constant political fight I don’t believe the country can afford to lose,” Schultz said. “The corporate effort to ship jobs overseas threatens the middle class in America and every American should be concerned about that. My show will focus on these crucial issues.”

The show will contain more information and straight news in more depth than his previous work, he added.

The veteran broadcaster, who was described by PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley as “a much needed liberal voice in a sea of cable news conservatives,” thinks RT America is the perfect spot for his new show.

"RT has become well-known as the place to get an alternative perspective on what’s going on in the world," Schultz said." They look at the side of the story – one you won’t see on the mainstream, corporate media. RT America in particular is dedicated to US stories and how international events affect Americans. This is the right platform for me to give straight talk and straight news to the American middle class.”

While RT’s critics like to call the channel “propaganda,” Schultz believes the accusations are unfounded.

“This is the problem with news culture today. Big money and corporate interest drown out a lot of voices,” he said, noting that “RT completes the picture of the events in the US and around the globe, giving viewers access to a range of stories, voices and opinions, and a real opportunity to speak their minds.”

“Ed Schultz is one of the best-known and well-respected progressive commentators in America,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief, said in a statement. “With Ed helming a show, we are continuing the tradition of collaborating with top international journalistic talent that engages our audience by providing in-depth coverage, analysis and commentary on important but underreported issues to millions of US viewers.”

Schultz is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where as a football player he led the nation in passing and achieved All-American status as a quarterback.

He began his broadcasting career more than two decades ago as a sportscaster in Fargo, North Dakota. In the 1990s, he expanded the focus of his radio show to include politics. “The Ed Schultz Show” became syndicated nationwide.

As a broadcaster, Schultz has covered some of the biggest events in American history. He reported on the September 11, 2001 terror attacks from Capitol Hill, providing a unique perspective as the day unfolded by speaking with some of the biggest political names of the day on the spot and in the moment. He was on the ground in Gulfport, Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and is one of the few broadcasters in the country ever to do a show from Cuba.

Until recently he hosted “The Ed Show” on MSNBC. The long-running program was “a precious show that... meant a tremendous amount to an awful lot of working people and just an awful lot of Americans for whom there aren’t a lot of voices, there aren’t a lot of vehicles by which their concerns, their fears and their growth as human beings can be reflected in a show,” journalist John Nichols said on the final episode.

Schultz has won three Eric Sevareid Awards, managed a broadcast team that won two Marconi Radio Awards and a Peabody Award, and has been named one of the top 10 radio hosts in the country by Talkers Magazine for several years. He will work out of the RT America’s studios in Washington, DC starting January 25.

"A few days ago in a DC convenient store the clerk said “Ed! Where’ve you been? We need you back giving us the real news.” That’s the best welcome one can ask for in Washington. I’m thrilled to get started,” Schultz said.